The Doctors and the Nanotech
by Teancum
Summary: In the year 2030 the Earth is without power. When the 9th doctor investigates he finds it should have been restored over a year prior. His investigation and alliance with the group from Revolution will lead to a dark discovery that also attracts a few of his other incarnations. **Revolution characters: Miles M, Sebastian M, Rachel M, Charlie M, Aaron, Priscilla, Nano
1. Chapter 1

**The Doctors and the Nanotech - A **_**Doctor Who**_ **and **_**Revolution**_ **crossover**

Things to understand prior to reading this fan fiction:

_Revolution _is set in the near future where a last-ditch weapon had been used, the nanites. Initially just robots, they were given two commands, absorb all electricity and replicate. In a matter of hours after they were unleashed they filled the entire world, even existing in the breathable air. A group went to a remote control tower which still functioned to control the nanites. As they tried to shut them down, the power returned momentarily, but something happened to the nanites to make them self aware. The events in this story take place directly after the series finale, which ended with a scene showing the nanites controlling a massive mob of people in the town of Bradbury, Idaho.

The Doctor is from a species of time travelers known as Time Lords. The short of it is that they have two hearts, look just like humans do (or rather, humans look like them), and when dying they can regenerate themselves, changing every cell in their body and taking on a new form

The Ninth Doctor, the first encountered in the story, has recently regenerated following a war between his race and the Daleks. To end the war and save the rest of the universe he had to use a weapon so powerful that it destroyed both his people and the Daleks. He now must face that guilt for the rest of his life.

**Chapter 1 - Prelude**

Bradbury, Idaho. Aaron tried to convince himself that it was too far of a trip just to lose a fight to the nanotech. Here in Texas he perhaps could live out his life and maybe, just maybe, it would leave him alone. But no matter how he tried to run from his date with destiny he knew he would have to find a way to confront and destroy the nano.

In the past year he'd seen just how dangerous and unpredictable the nanotech could be first hand. It started with visions of soldiers bursting into flames - visions that he soon found out were the reality. For a short time the nanotech listened to him, even looked to him for guidance. But when Dr. Horn killed Cynthia he lost control. He'd ordered the nano to kill the soldiers and Horn, and he watched Horn burn there before his eyes. But when Aaron begged the nano to heal Cynthia it had left him helpless. In time the maturing nano turned the tables, this time ordering Aaron around, and possessing the body of his ex-wife, Priscilla. Together with Rachel he freed her from its hold, and as it left her body Priscilla saw a vision of the nanotech's plan. It all seemed too impossible. How could they defeat a foe that was everywhere? It was in the air they breathe, and it seemed to know all their moves before they made them.

No. Something had to be done. He had to try.

Aaron was tending to a sleeping Priscilla when Miles walked in. "Well, that's it. We're at war, Aaron. The Republic of Texas issued orders to kill any Patriot on sight. We took back Willoughby last night. I'm not sure how it'll -"

"Miles, there's something … bigger going on …"

Miles tone was sharp. "Bigger, Aaron!? What the hell could be bigger than taking down these maniacs?"

"I can't … Can you gather everyone together? Just the people you trust. Even Monroe, if you think you can trust him. I'll explain everything then." Aaron seemed shaken to Miles, much more so than his usual cowering self. Whatever it was, Miles had never seen him like this.

**SCENE CHANGE**

The Ninth Doctor was finally starting to feel like the hero he used to be. After the devastation of the time war and having to exterminate… no, annihilate, his own people alongside the Daleks he thought he'd forever be jaded and full of guilt. Then he met Rose, a simple 21st century girl from London, England on Earth. Typically he felt that humans acted like "stupid apes", but Rose was … different. She had an innocence and purity that seemed to fill in the gaps the time war had left in his hearts. He was better with her.

Still, he needed time on his own now and again, and at her request he dropped Rose off outside her mother's flat to ring in the New Year of 2005 with her. He'd been invited, of course, but declined. Good ole Rose. She was truly unique.

Nine put the TARDIS into a low orbit around Earth and activated the temporal scanners. "Any chance for an adventure, I wonder?" As if having read his mind the TARDIS displayed an anomaly in the year 2030. The anomaly seemed to cover the Earth, but there were two points of great intensity, both in North America. The smaller one was centered in Texas, and the much larger one in Idaho.

The Ninth Doctor mused. "Right then, cowboys or potatoes?" he said to no one in particular. He reached into his leather coat and pulled out a British pound. He balanced it on the top of his right hand and gave it a flick. "Tails we pick potatoes". It landed in his other hand and he slapped it down atop his right. Heads. The doctor smiled as he set the controls for a location outside of Willoughby, Texas in the year 2030. He briefly considered finding his leather chaps and cowboy hat, but decided that he couldn't pull off the cowboy look in his current incarnation.

2030. That was three years after the first great blackout of Earth. But a scan revealed there was only one great surge of power in Bradbury, Idaho. The rest of the Earth was dark. Strange, the power should have returned over a year ago. 'Maybe these cowboys will have some answers', he thought, and engaged the engines.

**SCENE CHANGE**

Miles had gathered everyone outside of the gas station they had been using as their safe house. "Okay, Aaron. Everyone's here. Now tell us what's more important than the war against the Patriots."

"Yeah, Stay Puft. Tell us why we're here instead of out killing those Patriot bastards!"

Oh good, it seems Monroe is being his usual charming self, Aaron thought to himself. He took a deep breath. "Look, I know you guys probably think I'm crazy, and I know you think I'm a coward. But something much bigger is happening than the war with the Patriots." He could barely hold himself together. "The nanotech … the tech that took out the power in the first place … when we turned it back on, something happened."

"Yeah, that psycho Patriot Randall Flynn dropped a nuke on Philly!" said an enraged Monroe.

"Yes, but … " Aaron stabled himself on a nearby icebox. "that's where things get weird. When the missiles were launched I frantically wrote a subroutine to have the nanites specifically target and depower the nukes. They were supposed to just fall out of the sky. I sent the commands over and over, but it wasn't until after the missiles hit that the nanites responded. Just before the power went out again I saw a message on my screen. 'Thank you, mummy'"

Charlie was more concerned about the war, and in recent months she found she had little patience when people didn't get to the point. "So what are you saying, Aaron? It thinks you're it's mommy?"

"What I'm saying is that the nanotech is alive. And over the past year it's become more and more sentient. And with its growing intelligence its plan to enslave the human race also grows."

Monroe scoffed. "That's total bull#* !"

Rachel spoke up. "It's true. The nanites took over Priscilla's body. It performed experiments on humans in a house a few miles from here. I saw it with my own eyes. We barely saved Priscilla, and as the nano left her body she saw what it was planning next."

Miles had heard enough. "That's great, Rachel. Just great. It's bad enough that we have to fight these crooked psychopaths pretending to represent the United States. Now you're telling me that our bigger enemy is one that exists in the very air we breathe? I can't come up with a plan to fight that. I can't-"

Just then the wind picked up, and a terrible screeching noise began to fill the nearby air. It sounded like a cross between electricity arcing and a dinosaur roaring. Aaron and Priscilla cowered under the awning of the gas station. A blue box began to phase in and out on the road until it finally fully materialized. Miles and Monroe drew their guns, and Charlie aimed her bow at the distinctly British box. The door opened.

"Maybe you can't fight the nanites, mate. But I can. Hello, I'm the Doctor".


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Introductions**

Aaron's eyes widened. Monroe slowly strafed to the side of the stranger, keeping his rifle trained on him. Miles was a stone, a single arm stretched straight out, his pistol an extension of it. "Who the hell are you?"

"I just told you, I'm the Doctor!"

Monroe didn't like games. "Doctor Who?"

Despite the rushing of adrenaline surging through him, Aaron chuckled.

"You think this is funny, tubbs?"

"No, no I just-"

Rachel stepped in between Miles and the Doctor. "About damn time you got here, Doctor"

"Do you know me, then?" the Doctor asked.

"Only by reputation" was Rachel's reply.

"Rachel" said Miles as he lowered his weapon slightly "Who is this guy?"

"He's the doctor. He's a time traveler who has helped Earth in the past"

Aaron found his adrenaline levels lowering. "That's right! He's a Time Lord!"

"Oh, seems I'm more well known that I thought" said the Doctor. "What else do you know about me?"

Aaron stood up. "I don't know, I always thought you were a myth. When I worked at Google - you know, before the blackout - we'd always get news on people like you. I never believed it, until now. But here you are, blue police box and everything. Is it true that you can regenerate all the cells in your body?"

"Yup. You might call me the 'ninth' Doctor. And now that we all know who I am, mind telling me who you lot are?"

"I'm Rachel Matheson. This is Miles, and that's Sebastian Monroe. Over there is my daughter, Charlie. Under the awning are Aaron and Priscilla."

"Thought I might run into you lot" the Doctor said. "The TARDIS picked up two anomalies, one here, one in Bradbury, Idaho. Shoulda known that I'd run into the founders of the Monroe Republic and the creators of the nanotech. A motley crew, you are."

"Wait, what's a TARDIS?" asked Miles, his gun now holstered.

"T.A.R.D.I.S - Time and Relative Dimensions In Space" came the Doctor's reply. By this point he'd said it so many times it was almost a programmed response. "She can travel through both space and time. She detected a problem in two locations, I picked one, and here I am. So! Down to business. You should have had power restored over a year ago."

"We did" Aaron apprehensively stated. "We restored power, but a psychopath named Randall Flynn sent two missiles to eliminate the capitals of the Georgia and the Monroe Republic. I tried to send commands to stop the missiles, but the nano didn't respond until it was too late. I saw the words, 'Thank you, mummy' on my screen, then everything went dark again."

The doctor straightened himself "Wait! Was 'mummy' spelled in British English? Y'know, with a 'u' instead of an 'o'?"

"Yeah, why? Is that important?"

"Definitely. It means that your nanotech just became a lot more dangerous."

"Great. Like more dangerous how, exactly?"

"I happened to be in London investigating a crashed Chula ship during World War II. Turned out it was a sort of ambulance, with its primary caretakers tiny robots known as nanogenes. During the bombing a young boy was fatally wounded whilst wearing a gas mask. The nanongenes sought him out and 'repaired him' as best they could. But the boy was too far gone, and spent his time searching for his 'mummy'. In the end I got it all sorted, but no doubt the nanogenes kept the information from their first attempt to heal the boy. And when the power was turned back on your nanotech interacted with the nanogenes from the Chula ambulance ship, and bam. Sentient nano." The Doctor continued "What I still don't know is why the nanotech seems so interested in Area 52."

"Don't you mean Area 51, Doctor?" asked Aaron.

"Nope, Area 52. Roswell was the crash site of what you lot would call a martian spacecraft, and your government built a base around it. But word leaked out. So when a different craft crashed in Idaho the government covered it up quickly, quite literally. The spacecraft and an entire base is buried under the town. The town of Bradbury never existed before 1963. Then the crash happened, and within a month you had a quaint little town sitting on top of one of the greatest secrets your government ever kept. Even I don't know what kind of ship crashed there."

The Doctor spun around the console of the TARDIS, entered some information onto a keyboard, then looked the monitor above it. "We should be fine if we set down here" he said, pointing to a location on the monitor a short distance from the town. And with that he was a blur of lever pulling and dial turning. The TARDIS came to life, and the Doctor's new group of companions lurched forward as the ship took flight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Touchdown near Bradbury**

Monroe didn't trust this 'Doctor' one bit. He sure as hell didn't look alien. For all he knew this could be some British plot. Maybe this ship was some sort of advanced tech from across the pond and the doctor was working for MI6 or whatever they still had over there. Maybe that's why Rachel and her team were working on the nanotech in the first place - as a defense against these TARDISes? Who knew? This ship was weird, too - a glorified phone booth with an interior that would rival the size any US Navy carrier bridge from back in the day. And it that was just what Monroe could see. There were halls that led to who knows where. He had to admit that he didn't think any human could come up with something like this. Maybe it was stolen alien tech, or maybe this guy was and alien after all. He pulled Miles outside as soon as the TARDIS materialized outside of Bradbury.

"Miles, what the hell are we doing? Huh? We're supposed to be taking out the Patriots, not going on joyrides with British pricks and their freaky phone booth ships! This isn't Star Trek, it's real life!"

"What do you want from me? Huh, Bass? Texas has already declared war on the Patriots, and a few more guys aren't gonna sway that battle one way or the other. Besides, if this nanotech issue is real we gotta tackle it first. Then you can go right back to trying to get back the republic and sit on your throne as a tyrant. Ok?"

At this point Monroe and Miles were mere inches apart, face to face, eye to eye. Monroe was visibly angered, and for all the ability that Miles had to be stone faced, he seemed to be, too. Monroe was tired of Miles' smart remarks. Besides, with the estrangement of his son and the capture of the Patriot president by Texas he wasn't so sure he wanted to lead a nation again. His fists slowly relaxed, and finally Monroe stepped away.

Priscilla spoke for the first time since the Doctor had appeared. "Bradbury should be about 15 miles due south, just over those hills." The group looked in the direction that she was pointing. On their left the Grand Teton mountain range spiked in and out of the low clouds. To the right an endless horizon of desert. In front of them lay rolling hills with elevation changes of at least 500 feet.

The Ninth Doctor had been leaning against his TARDIS during the showdown between Miles and Monroe. "Well then, shall we be off?" He righted himself and began walking. The rest of the group followed suit, Miles and an untrusting Monroe taking up the rear.

As they reached the crown of the third hill Monroe moved closer to the Doctor. Whatever was going down, he wanted to be ready if I needed to take this stranger out. Soon the wind picked up, and again the sound of another TARDIS materializing was heard. Another blue police box, slightly more battered than the Ninth Doctor's, began to materialize. As it finished the door opened. Out of it came a tall, thin man with spiky brown hair. He wore a brown pinstriped suit and a long brown leather coat. Suddenly two gun cockeds.

"What the hell is going on here!" Monroe demanded, pointing one pistol at the Doctor and another at the skinny suited man. "Is this some kind of British takeover?"

The Ninth Doctor spoke first. "Easy now Monroe, no need to get upset. We'll figure this out." Nine turned to the man that emerged from the other TARDIS. "Oi! Who are you!"

"What d'ya mean who am I? I'm you!" the Tenth Doctor responded. "You'll know me in a second, you've been here before, too. Time streams are still syncing up. Fixed points in time are weird like that, ya know." Ten gave Nine a once over. "Mind you I've forgotten how much I used to look like I was in the British mafia. And those ears!" A wide, toothy grin appeared on the Tenth Doctor's face. "It's like they go on forever!"

Miles interrupted the Tenth Doctor's ramblings, turning to Monroe. "Why don't you holster your guns there, Quentin Tarantino? Let's figure out what's going on before we go wasting bullets we're gonna need." He turned his attention to the Ninth Doctor. "Mind cluing us in, here Doc?"

"Apparently, I'm him" Nine responded, nodding in the man's direction.

"And he's me. Well, he was anyway." added the Tenth Doctor. "I'm a time traveler, so when you're out saving the universe every day and you're just over 900 years old you tend to bump into yourself every once and a while." He turned to the Ninth Doctor, whose eyes widened. "Oh, time streams are catching up finally? Starting to understand now?"

Nine folded his arms and frowned. "No need to get all high and mighty. You're making fun of yourself, you know. And now that I'm remembering, aren't there supposed to be four of us?"

"Yup." the Tenth Doctor made sure to over-enunciate the 'p'. "Goldilocks should be along shortly."

"And what about _him_?" the Ninth Doctor asked.

"Oh he'll probably be late as always, you know him" was Ten's response.

"And how do you know that, exactly?"

"Well," started Ten in a somewhat playful tone "I've done this twice before, haven't I? We might not remember any of this once this is over, but I've got enough in my head while the time streams are in sync to know he's always late."

"So who exactly are you?" Charlie interrupted "So you remember this? If you've been through this before you should know exactly what to do."

The Tenth Doctor answered "Well, I'm known as the Doctor, just like he is" he said, nodding to the Ninth Doctor. "But, I 'spose it could be difficult to figure out who's who, so if he and I are in the same room you can call him Nine and me Ten. And in regards to me being able to guide you through this whole debacle, that's not how it works. I just remember flashes, feelings. Time isn't some linear progression, it's a wibbley wobbley ball of … stuff. The only reason I remember is because of the biological imprint I leave each time on, well, myself."

Suddenly the sound of another TARDIS could be heard. The group spun around to see yet another blue box materializing. It looked somewhat younger than the other TARDISes, being in a bit better condition. It finished materializing, but then sat idle for some time. Finally the door opened, and a man in formal 1800's dress and long, curly hair stepped out. He did not notice the gathered crowd at first, his attention on straightening his tie.

"The Doctor, I presume" said an inquisitive Rachel.

"Why yes, yes I am. My apologies. Have we met?"

"No, but you may know these men" she said, gesturing to the Ninth and Tenth Doctors.

"Well…." the Tenth Doctor hung on the word. "He's not going to know us. He was us before we were us."

"In other words," the Ninth Doctor clarified, "that's he and I before we regenerated into our current bodies."

Miles was more than done with pleasantries. "Great, so there are three of you. We've got the skinny metro doctor, the _Gone in 60 Seconds_ doctor, and the Shakespeare doctor.

"Skinny!?" said the Tenth Doctor "I'm just the right size for a man my height!"

The Ninth Doctor seemed irritated, too. "And why does everyone always compare me to that movie? Am I missing something?"

The Eighth Doctor, however, was totally composed. "Again, my apologies. If I'm dressed inappropriately. I can quickly remedy that."

"Yeah … " said Miles, who still wasn't sure if he could handle one of these guys, let alone three. "If we take you into Bradbury looking like that the nanotech will pick you out right away, and there goes any possible element of surprise. Can't you, I dunno, blend in a bit more?"

"Not a problem, back in a tick"

While Eight was in his TARDIS changing the team stopped to plan their next move. They all agreed that they had to find the buried spacecraft, because whatever was in it, the nanotech wanted it. The Ninth and Tenth Doctors also surmised that they would have to locate and remove the Chula nanogenes from the planet in order to break the Earth nano's sentience. Everyone agreed that it should also be a priority to remove the nanotech's influence on the humans so they could clear the town if things went south. The Tenth Doctor then distributed what looked like silver bluetooth earbuds to each member of the team, saving one for the Eighth Doctor.

"What are these?" Rachel asked.

"Cyberman earpods. Nicked em' from a Torchwood cache after the Battle of Canary Warf. Not to worry, their cyber-parts have been removed. I reprogrammed em' so that they serve just two purposes: communication and masking us from the nanotech. With these in our ears we'll be able to communicate with each other, and it'll appear to the nanotech as though we aren't there. Communication lines open by thought. Just think of who you want to speak to and start talking. The earpods will read the residual thought energy around your mind and connect you to them instantly." The Tenth Doctor paused as he handed the first of the earpods to Rachel. His tone changed. "They aren't full-proof, of course. Interacting with things controlled by the nanotech such as touching a controlled human could alert it to our presence, so be careful."

The Eighth Doctor emerged once again from his TARDIS. His self-imposed makeover was rather drastic, but definitely fitting given the circumstances. His long curled hair had been cropped to no more than a few inches in length on top, with the underside cut short under his now much shorter top curls. The 1800's era clothing had been traded in for a comfortable shirt with a pair of jeans, a pair of boots, and a dark leather coat with a satchel slung over his shoulder. The Ninth and Tenth doctors noticed that he had changed his sonic screwdriver as well. It had a wooden handle which extended to bronze and gold prongs which held a long blue diode. It was much fancier than the Eighth Doctor's previous screwdriver, and both the Ninth and Tenth Doctors recalled that it was the first 'modern model' screwdriver with a diode on the end of it.

"Awww, brilliant!" exclaimed the Tenth Doctor. "I'd almost forgotten how much I loved that sonic!"

"It is rather fetching, isn't it?" replied the Eighth Doctor "A gift from the TARDIS."

After bringing the Eighth Doctor up to speed on the group's assessment of the situation the three doctors volunteered to each lead a team to focus on separate objectives. The Eighth Doctor took Rachel and Charlie, their goal being to infiltrate the town and find a way to break the nano's hold on the humans there. Rachel would help the Doctor, and Charlie would serve as self-defense if trouble arose. Aaron and Priscilla would go with the Tenth Doctor. Their plan was to infiltrate Area 52, find the Chula nanogenes that had been transported there, and discharge them back into deep space via the TARDIS. Aaron would then use a computer terminal to issue a command for all nanotech to self destruct, a process which Rachel described as simply making the air stink of sulfur. Miles, Monroe and the Ninth Doctor would serve as the cavalry. If things went awry Miles and Monroe would provide cover fire while the Ninth Doctor extracted those in danger. He didn't like the idea of killing innocent people who had no control of themselves, especially if they could be saved. He conceded, however, that the only way to succeed was to keep the group alive, and if they didn't succeed who knew what the nanotech could do with the technology in Area 52.

The Eighth and Tenth Doctor teams assembled in their respective TARDISes. Miles, Monroe, and the Ninth Doctor began the two mile journey back to his TARDIS as the other two dematerialized.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - A town of blank slates**

After scanning the town for a spot free of possessed humans, the Eighth Doctor set his TARDIS down in the back room of a grocery store. Charlie emerged from the TARDIS first, crossbow at the ready, followed by Rachel and the Doctor. She began performing sweeps of the nearby area with military precision, something she learned while fighting alongside Miles for Georgia.

"Easy, Charlie. I don't think those bags of crisps are going to attack" said the Eighth Doctor playfully.

Charlie was visibly irritated by the Doctor's humor. She turned her head slightly to speak, but kept her eyes trained down the bow's sights. "I'm not taking any chances."

Rachel's admonition was soft and simple. "Charlie … "

Charlie took one last look down the sights of the bow before bringing it to rest at her side. The team then approached the exit of the back room slowly. Wiping the dust from the glass on the swinging doors, the three heroes saw that they were near the frozen foods section. As they slowly made their way out of the back room Rachel saw something out of the corner of her eye. She rushed the Doctor and Charlie behind a nearby children's clothing rack as they watched a young woman push a cart down the frozen food aisle. She stopped at one of the doors, opened it, and pulled out a frozen meal for one. Rachel's stomach turned as she realized the meal was over 15 years old. Charlie raised her bow, ready to strike.

"Wait!" said the Doctor in a hushed tone. "Look at her!"

They noticed that the would-be shopper's eyes weren't even looking at the box. They were looking straight ahead. They stayed that way as the shopper put the meal back, then rounded the corner. A few moments passed and the same shopper emerged again, turned down the same aisle, seemed to examine the same box, then disappeared around the corner again. The team watched the woman do this three times.

Rachel was the first to speak. "It's the nanotech. It's put her into a programmed loop. Some sick vision of what it thinks humans should be doing."

Charlie didn't move a muscle, her bow still trained on the possessed shopper. By this time the Eighth Doctor had enough of Charlie's readiness to kill. He stood up and made his way to the woman as she examined the box for the fourth time, positioning himself in front of her cart.

"Remember, they don't know we're here thanks to the earpods." The woman put the box back, and began pushing the cart again. "Oh, on the move again I see … " said the Doctor to the woman as he backpedaled down the aisle just in front of her cart. " … anyone in there?" He snapped his fingers at eye's height. No response from the woman. He stepped out of her way as she again turned down the corner. "They won't realize we're here unless we directly touch them." Rachel and Charlie caught up with him and he again stepped in front of the woman. "Watch" he said.

The Doctor put his foot out and stopped the cart. Once again the woman did not react in any way. She stood there, frozen in place. He stepped aside and the woman continued on, oblivious that anything had happened at all. "Again, as long as we don't touch them they won't react and we won't be detected."

"Which means … " began Rachel.

" … that we just have to find the right individual or group to trap" replied the Doctor.

**SCENE CHANGE**

Miles was leaning against a rail inside the Ninth Doctor's TARDIS as he watched Monroe pace up and down the ramp that led from the door to the ship's controls. The Doctor was sitting on a seat that looked like it had been taken from a sedan, his feet resting on the control casing. He watched Monroe become more and more agitated with each step. Finally, he spoke.

"You know Monroe, you don't have to be so high strung all the time"

Monroe turned toward and hurriedly marched toward the Doctor. "And what would you know about it, huh?"

The Doctor stood upright "Oh, I know plenty. I know that right now you're considered a fugitive and a war criminal in every territory, and I know that you've got a lot of blood on your hands. I know that your son just walked out on you, and that Miles here is about the only friend you've got left, if you can call your what you two have a friendship. I know that -"

By this time Monroe was mere inches from the Doctor, his fists trembling with rage. Straightening himself as much as possible to match the Doctor's tall frame, he screamed right in the Doctor's face. "WHAT DO YOU HELL DO YOU KNOW!? HUH!? WHAT DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT ME!?" His tone softened, but his emotions didn't. "Before the blackout I was just an ordinary bachelor. I had plans of settling down someday, of having a wife, kids, and a mortgage. But since that time I've lost everything. My wife, my estranged son, my Republic, and my best friend. I have nothing. So you'll excuse me if I seem a little 'high strung'."

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, keeping the close proximity and eye contact with Monroe. He huffed and managed a weak smile. "D'ya know what? I know you better than you think, Monroe. You want to know what was supposed to happen when the power came back on? What you would have been?" there was caring look in the Doctor's eyes, one akin to the 'tough love' that could only be given by a parent. "You would have been brilliant. You saw the good that having the power restored could do. It brought back industry, hope. You saw swarms of people who were sick or dying suddenly have the means to survive, even to get better. You saw enough food being produced to take care of the hungry. It changed you. You, Sebastian Monroe, became one of the founding fathers of the Republic of America, a new United States, if you will, standing for all the things the original did and more."

Monroe turned away, bracing himself against a handrail with his hands. "That's gone now."

"Doesn't have to be. Think about it. We win the day, here and now, in Bradbury and the same events could happen."

For the first time in a long time, Sebastian Monroe wore his all of his emotions on his sleeve. All of his fear and sadness came to the surface, boiling over like a geyser. He turned back to the Doctor and Miles. Trembling from head to foot, he pulled his 9mm pistol out from under his shirt, pressing it against his left temple.

Miles stood. "Bass, come on. What are you doing?"

"I dunno, Miles. I just don't know anymore" came his reply. Monroe cocked the gun.

"You heard the Doctor, Bass. We can win this. We can do our part and can actually bring freedom and hope back." He started to step closer, but Monroe's nervous twitch was enough to stop Miles in his tracks. Monroe trembled, gun pressed to his head, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he re-engaged the safety and brought his arm to rest at his side. Tears began to softly flow as he dropped the pistol on the steel floor. "I need some air." Monroe said, and he quickly exited the TARDIS.

The Doctor folded his arms and frowned, eyes fixated on the gun lying on his TARDIS' floor. "You apes and your guns" he muttered.

Miles looked outside, then back at the Doctor. "Doc, that stuff you said; was it true?"

"Doesn't matter" said the Doctor as he looked up from the gun at Miles. "What matters is that he needed to hear it, he needed to have hope again. The future isn't written in stone. He can change and be the person he really wants to be. He just has to believe it."

Miles picked up the gun and placed it in a nearby rucksack that served as a weapons cache. The Doctor wasn't thrilled with having guns on board, so Miles thought it best to get it out of sight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Saving Bradbury**

Just outside of Bradbury, the Eighth Doctor, Rachel and Charlie had found their test subjects. In a double-wide trailer the team found what appeared to be a family sitting around the television. The was an elderly woman in an easy chair, a man and a woman sitting close together on a couch, and four children of varying ages sitting cross legged on the floor. The flatscreen TV was on, the characters "HDMI1" in the upper right being the only thing displayed on it. Charlie checked the front and the back door to ensure they locked and their subjects could not easily escape. Meanwhile the doctor was scanning the humans with his new sonic screwdriver.

"It appears to simply be a repeating pulse emanating from the nanotech." The Doctor ushered Rachel and Charlie into the nearby kitchen. The three of them poked their heads around the corner, and he sonic'd the people in front of the TV. For a few moments they came out of their zombie-like trance, surveying their surroundings. But as quickly as they came to the nanotech regained hold and they returned their attention to the TV.

"The sonic can temporarily reverse it, but it doesn't have the range nor the power to release the nanotech's hold on the entire town. We need something to boost its effects, but I don't have anything in the TARDIS that we could use to amplify the signal."

Remembering the amplifier she was forced to build for Monroe's pendants, Rachel came up with a solution. "I think I have something, but we'll have to adapt it. I just hope that it's still intact. It's in a downed helicopter outside of Philadelphia."

"But the nuke wasted Philly, mom. There's no way that we could go near the radiation." said Charlie.

The Doctor, knowing Rachel's history, understood that she had the intelligence to build whatever was necessary. "The TARDIS can clear the radiation in a short radius around it. If we can find this 'something' you speak of we can land the her close enough to shield you from the radiation."

Moments later the TARDIS located a pendant amplifier that had provided mobile power to Monroe's militia vehicles. The doctor landed and extended the TARDIS shields to their maximum range. Charlie and Rachel set out to find the amplifier while the Doctor remained inside to monitor the radiation levels.

"I just hope it's still intact" said Rachel to Charlie as the approached the crash site of the helicopter that her now dead soon took down. They found the amplifier around 20 feet away from the crash, having been thrown from the wreck upon impact. They took it back to the TARDIS, where Rachel began to inspect it using Earth tools the Doctor had provided.

Rachel spoke, eyes still examining the amplifier. "It's banged up, but in one piece. The problem is that it needs an initial power source to amplify. It can only amplify the type of energy that it draws from, so we'll need something sonic-based."

The doctor unbuttoned his coat, revealing a pendant with an orange center. "Well that explains this, then" he said, removing it from around his neck. "When the TARDIS issued me a new sonic screwdriver, it also gave me this. It's a sonic pendant. I know well enough to keep whatever the TARDIS gives me, so I tucked it away under my coat for safekeeping." He activated the pendant. It emitted a soft, amber colored light and produced an electric whirr much lower than his screwdriver. After testing to ensure it was compatible with the amplifier he shut the it off.

The Doctor returned the TARDIS to Bradbury, this time directly in the center of town. They carried the amplifier, sonic pendant attached, to a barber shop on the corner of the street. Rachel and the Eighth Doctor prepped the device while Charlie stood guard. She still wasn't convinced that they wouldn't be discovered. Suddenly her fears were confirmed. She turned to see a group of Patriot soldiers rounding the corner, apparently out patrolling the streets. "Doctor!" she called. "We've got a group of Patriot soldiers headed this way, and even if we can hide from them they're going to notice a blue police box in the middle of the street!"

The Doctor made a run for the TARDIS where he could extend its shield to protect Charlie and Rachel as they approached. At the commander's order the soldiers brought their rifles to bear. "Open fire!" a familiar voice said. The Doctor frantically put the key into the TARDIS, bullets whizzing past his head and ricocheting off its exterior. Moments later the Doctor, safe inside, extended its shields. Now the bullets dissolved well before reaching their target.

Both Rachel and Charlie knew that voice. "Truman." said Rachel in calm-yet-angered tone.

The women confidently stepped out of the gas station directly into the protection of the TARDIS. The gunfire continued to dissolve into thin air as it hit the outer radius of the shields. They walked calmly towards the TARDIS, but paused outside its doors. Rachel turned and faced Truman and his soldiers. She put a hand on her hip and shifted her weight to one side

Truman was surprised. "Hold your fire!" he called, and soon the street was silent. "Well, well. Rachel and Charlie Matheson. Fancy seeing you here. Who's your friend?"

"What are the Patriots doing here, Truman?" asked Rachel, unphased.

"Oh these guys?" said Truman, thumbing to the soldiers behind him. "They're hardly Patriots any more. Now they're little more than robots. The nanotech controls them, and they follow my orders." As he finished his sentence a crooked smile came across his face. "So, where are Miles and Monroe? I'm sure you didn't come here alone."

Charlie leaned in to her mother and spoke in a low voice. "Something's wrong. He's stalling us."

"I know that you understand how powerful the nanotech is. It's more powerful than any human faction. The future of our race depends on working with it." Truman at this point talked to them casually. Clearly something more was going on.

Just then the Doctor called out from inside the TARDIS. "Ladies, it's time to move! They're doing something to the TARDIS. I can't keep the shields extended like this for much longer.

Truman's half grin turned into a devious smile. "Fire!" He yelled, and a barrage of bullets were hurled toward Charlie and Rachel. They tried to retreat to the TARDIS, but the doors closed in front of them. The Eighth Doctor tried frantically to open the doors, but they would not open. He called through the doors to mother and daughter. "I'm sorry! Emergency Protocols have activated. The TARDIS is protecting itself!"

The shield barrier surrounding the Eighth Doctor's TARDIS was shrinking rapidly. Charlie raised her crossbow, ready to fire when the shield expired. "I've had about enough of this!" She thought of speaking with the Ninth Doctor and the earpod instantly connected them. "Doctor, we're pinned down in the center of town! We need backup!"

"Help is on the way, Charlie!" he responded. He mentally closed the connection then called to Monroe, outside the TARDIS. "Monroe, time to saddle up! We're needed." Monroe burst inside, and with that they were off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Ding!**

The Ninth Doctor's TARDIS materialized atop a business building behind the nanotech-controlled soldiers. Monroe and Miles burst from the door, taking up sniping positions. Three soldiers fell before Truman realized they were being attacked from behind. He ordered his soldiers to about face and return fire.

With the distraction in place, the Ninth Doctor moved his TARDIS next to his predecessor's. He ushered Charlie and Rachel in with a "Time to go!" As he closed the door he used his earpod to connect to the Eighth Doctor. "I've got them, Doctor. Fall back to the rendezvous point!" He then returned his TARDIS to the spot where Miles and Monroe were battling the soldiers.

Monroe recognized the commander. "Time to die, Truman" he said in a low voice, and with that he sent a bullet straight through Truman's forehead. The former Patriot commander fell to his knees, then to the ground.

What happened next was a shock to Miles and Monroe. As their commanding officer fell to the ground the nano-controlled soldiers immediately dropped their guns and walked off in a dozen different directions. It was as though they reverted back to being zombies. As Miles and Monroe observed the soldiers the Ninth Doctor walked up behind them.

The Doctor seemed to know what they were going to ask before they did so. "They're reverting back to a default state. Think of their soldier personas as a sort of subroutine. As long as their commander was alive, they followed his orders. Once he died, the reverted back to their basic programming."

**SCENE CHANGE**

The Tenth Doctor's TARDIS materialized inside a small library. The Doctor held a contraption in his right hand that looked like it was made from rummage sale parts. The casing seemed to be made from a steel lunch box from 1970's Earth. On one side was a single reel-to-reel cassette wheel, which simply spooled back onto itself when running. The other housed a small analog clock and some dials. A coiled telephone wire connected the box itself to an old telephone receiver. Other odds and ends were connected to the device.

"What exactly is that thing, Doctor?" asked Aaron, who was now questioning this Doctor's sanity.

"It's my timey-wimey detector. It goes 'ding' when there's stuff." replied the Tenth Doctor.

Aaron was even more unsure. "Uh huh, and what sort of 'stuff' makes it ding?"

"Well," said the Doctor, "could be just about anything. I use it to detect temporal anomalies. But it can also microwave your dinner if you want." The Doctor grinned widely, but the confused and worried looks that Aaron and Priscilla held told him this was not the time for humor. "To be a bit more specific, this device can track down anything that's traveled through the time vortex. I'm betting the Chula nanogenes that made your nanotech sentient have done just that, and this will make them easier to find." He checked the TARDIS display one last time. "Right, coast is clear, everyone grab a torch on the way out. We can't be sure that your nanotech has bothered to turn on the lights for us."

The Doctor exited the TARDIS first, followed by Priscilla and Aaron. The town library was small, perhaps no more than 3000 square feet, so whatever they were looking for would be easy to find. The Doctor explained to Aaron and Priscilla that the TARDIS detected the entrance to the base here, so something in this library triggered it. They split up, each taking an aisle. Then the Doctor found it, the obvious switch to the entrance.

"Oh come on, that's too easy! _War of the Worlds_?" the Doctor called for Aaron and Priscilla. "Bit disappointing, really." He sighed slightly, as though he expected more of a challenge. "But that's definitely it. Look at all the other books. They're covered with with dust. But this one looks brand new." He gave the book a tug, and the suddenly they disappeared in a flash of light.

In almost an instant they reappeared inside the base. On the wall in front of them was a duplicate shelf, with _War of the Worlds_ once again being the only book not covered in dust. The doctor surmised that the two books were the trigger for the teleports. He hated teleports. Must have been reverse engineered from whatever technology was in the crashed ship.

As they searched the base they found some areas to be dimly lit or not lit at all. Others had machines whirring and all the lights were turned on. Soon they found the control room. Priscilla spoke as though she was remembering something. "Aaron, you have to pre-plant a virus on this network in order to kill the nanotech."

Aaron was more than a bit apprehensive. "No way. The last time I tried that I got stuck in a fantasy world. Besides, what good would that do? The nanotech will detect the problem and work around out, or it'll shut off the power before I can finish." he replied.

"It won't. The nano is weakened. I felt it as it left my body. The Chula nanogenes aren't enough to sustain it. That's why it's here, to find more technology to keep it alive. It's still powerful, but if you're careful you can sneak in a shutdown virus without it noticing."

Aaron sat down at the computer terminal and let out an anxious sigh. "Okay, here goes."

As Aaron typed the Doctor checked the monitors around the base. It was empty. Totally empty. Soon the Doctor saw why. On one of the surface cameras he noticed several soldiers firing at Rachel and Charlie who were just outside the Eighth Doctor's TARDIS, their bullets stopping short. Priscilla was watching the same monitor, her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth.

The bullets stopped just a few feet from them now. But then they saw a soldier fall, then another, then another. They watched as the remaining soldiers turn to fight this new off-screen threat. As they did so, a second TARDIS materialized near the first, and they saw the Ninth Doctor motion for Charlie and Rachel to get in. Then both TARDISes dematerialized.

"They must have fallen back to the rendezvous point." said the Tenth Doctor. He thought of his other two incarnations, and the earpod connected him to them. "Doctors, is everyone alright?"

"Yes," came the Eighth Doctor's reply. "The nanotech somehow began to eat away at my TARDIS' shields. The emergency protocols locked the doors and so the Ninth Doctor extracted Rachel and Charlie. Miles and Monroe are fine as well. My TARDIS' systems are slowly returning to normal, but it's evident that the nanotech has found something down there that is making it more powerful."

"Understood, Doctor. Glad you're all alive." The Tenth Doctor closed the comm. "Aaron, how are we coming along?"

"Nearly there. I just need to create a trigger that will activate it. … There." Aaron removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "That should do it. But it can't activate unless the nano has nothing to latch onto. The Chula nanogenes need to be gone and it has to be out of all its hosts. As long as it resides in a body it won't work."

"That'll have to do." replied the Doctor. He scanned the monitors one last time. "Well, there's the Chula nanogene pod. They should be easy enough to gather back up. The sonic can send them a command to return to the node. It's a small container inside the pod designed to transport the nanogenes in extreme emergencies. But we're not going in there without backup. Odds are there's a trap waiting for us." The next monitor over gave the Doctor a sinking feeling when he saw it. "What!?" He had a near-certain idea of what laid behind that door, but there was only one way to be sure. "Aaron, Priscilla, I have a hunch about what kind of ship crashed here, and if I'm right, the only chance you have for survival is to stay close to me."

The three made their way to an ominous looking steel door. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, activating it against the hand scanner. There was a short burst of steam and then the doors began to slowly open. A rotating amber light warned the visitors that this site was dangerous. As light began to pierce the darkened inner chamber the Doctor's worst fears were confirmed. "GET BACK!" he screamed, and pushed them around an outcropping in a nearby wall.

The object was all too familiar to the Doctor, but Aaron and Priscilla had never seen it before. It looked like a giant salt shaker with three appendages, two around half way up, and one near the top. The doctor's timey-wimey detector began ringing constantly. A bad sign. He shut the device off quickly.

Yet there was no pursuit made by the Dalek in the doorway. No shout of "EXTERMINATE!" There was nothing. It just sat there like a museum piece. The Doctor slowly emerged, sonic screwdriver drawn like a Walther pistol. He activated it. The Dalek did not move. He moved closer and scanned one of his greatest foes. No life signs. A trick? He had to be sure. He telescoped the screwdriver, which provided a deeper scan. After a few seconds he put the device up to his hear. It was confirmed. A dead Dalek.

He called to Priscilla and Aaron. "It's alright, it's dead." He motioned for them to come to him, then continued scanning.

"What is that thing?" asked Priscilla, a tinge of fear in her voiced.

"That would be a dead Dalek. Been that way for at least 50 years according to the scans."

Aaron bent over and looked into the Dalek's eyestalk. "But what's a Dalek? Some sort of robotic race?"

"They're the greatest enemies of the time lords. Mutant creatures that live their entire lives inside these armored shells. They're ruthless. They have one goal, total domination, and will do anything to reach it." he inspected the Dalek casing. "This one's post time war by the looks of it. I'm reading traces of human DNA."

"I'm sorry, you said human!?" asked a bewildered Aaron.

"As I said, they would do anything to achieve total domination. When I ended the Time War between my people and the Daleks I thought it was over. But then I confronted the Dalek Emperor, who had created a new Dalek army from human DNA. Just the building blocks from humans, mind you, but many lives were taken extracting the DNA needed to reboot the Dalek race."

The doctor placed his screwdriver back in his suit pocket and stood up. "No telling if there are still live Daleks in this ship. We need to be careful." And with that they lit their torches and searched the halls. They passed eight more dead Daleks before the Doctor found one of their computer terminals. "It's an interface terminal. We need to find out what happened here."

The Doctor activated his sonic screwdriver, pointing it at Priscilla's earpod, then Aaron's, then his own. He then sonic'd the terminal, and an audio log began to play.

"NEW DALEK SUBJECTS DEEMED DEFECTIVE. HOST DNA CONTAMINATED. ONLY TWO PURE DALEKS REMAIN, ALL TEST SUBJECTS DECEASED. INITIATING SYSTEMS POWER DRAIN FOR EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT. TEMPORAL SHIFT IN 5 RELS! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

The Doctor stared at the terminal. His tone was serious and cold. "So that's it then. The only two pure Daleks on the ship drained it's power for an emergency temporal shift, leaving the ship to drift in space. It crashed here, and some of the most advanced technology your species has ever seen was left unattended along with plenty of aliens to dissect."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - First assault**

The Eighth and Ninth Doctor were in eight's TARDIS fortifying its systems. The other Doctors had experienced this before, and their TARDISes were each upgraded when they were here as the Eighth Doctor. Charlie, Rachel, Miles and Monroe were relaxing in the sitting area of the control room.

Monroe extended the footrest of the recliner. "I have to say, Doctors, I don't know why you would ever change out your bridge from this setup. I _really_ like the idea of setting a destination then kicking back for a nap."

The Ninth Doctor took the comment a touch personally. "First off, it's called a control room. Second, when I changed the theme of my TARDIS I wanted something more streamlined, that's all."

Monroe crossed his feet and closed his eyes. "Yeah, well, streamlined or not, I'd still go with the ability to take a snooze in a recliner."

Charlie smiled. When Monroe wasn't being well, Monroe, he seemed like a good guy.

Miles smiled for the first time in a long time, too. Something was changing inside Bass; inside all of them. Whoever these 'Doctors' were, they were leaving a positive influence on the team.

The Doctors finished programming the new fortifications into the TARDIS, then walked over to the team. The Eighth Doctor spoke. "We'll use my TARDIS to evacuate the people in the town. It will take all of us to corral them in once we activate the sonic amplifier. Once everyone's in I'll set off for Blackfoot, the closest inhabited town. The rest of you will accompany my counterpart to assist my other counterpart inside the base."

The two TARDISes materialized back in the heart of Bradbury. While the Ninth Doctor's was hidden in an alley, Eight's was once again right in the center of town. Everyone converged on the barber shop where the sonic amplifier was previously stashed.

"Now we've got one chance to do this right." said the Ninth Doctor. "We have to send out two separate signals in sequence. The first will override the nanotech's instructions and have the townspeople converge in front of the TARDIS in the center of town. Once everyone's accounted for we'll send out the second, which will break the hold the nano has on them. You lot need to be in key points within that crowd when the second signal gets sent out. Everyone will be scared and disoriented, so the Doctor here will need everyone's help in getting them inside his TARDIS. Once everyone's in we'll meet up in my TARDIS and get inside the base."

Rachel activated the sonic pendant, and the team watched through the shop window. Like a town of mindless zombies the townspeople left their programmed tasks and walked to the center of town. The doctors were surprised when they saw that they began forming a single file line in front of the TARDIS doors.

Rachel, standing behind the two Doctors, spoke in a cool voice. "Your plan was good, but I thought I'd simplify your code a bit, Doctors."

"Fantastic!" the Ninth Doctor exclaimed. "You humans can be so brilliant sometimes!"

The Ninth Doctor stayed behind to monitor the amplifier while everyone else went into the street to guide the townspeople into the TARDIS. At a nod from the Eighth Doctor he turned his sonic screwdriver towards the amplifier and activated it. The pendant responded with a tone low and pulsing, and the Ninth Doctor turned to the window again to see people coming out of their trance. They seemed to recognize the danger they were in and so quickly followed the admonitions of those trying to get them into the TARDIS. With the last of the townspeople in the Eighth Doctor closed the doors and hurried to his console. He grabbed a telephone receiver, his words being heard by all inside his TARDIS and the team out on the street.

"Thank you for flying Time Lord airlines. Next stop, safety."

The Ninth Doctor exited the barber shop as the Eighth's TARDIS dematerialized. Miles cocked his head slightly and looked at the Doctor as if to say, 'really?' The Doctor returned the look with a wide, toothless grin. "I know, I used to have some really bad one liners, but that was another life. Quite literally. Well then, shall we be off to save the world?" He turned and led the team to his waiting TARDIS, which then used to travel to the inside of the base.

**SCENE CHANGE**

Deep within the base, the Tenth Doctor, Priscilla and Aaron were making their way out of the Dalek could see the exit which led to the base roughly fifty yards ahead. As they passed one of the deceased Daleks it's lights atop its dome suddenly started flashing.

"WHERE … AM … I?"

"RUN!" was the Doctor's only response, but it was directed at his companions, not the Dalek. They saw easily 20 Daleks between them and the exit. The Doctor prayed this one wouldn't be powered up enough before they could deadlock the exit behind them. But his fears multiplied as other Daleks began to wake while they ran for the exit.

"WHERE AM I?"

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?"

By this time the Daleks were starting to move slightly. One of them spotted the trio running past. It turned its head as it called out to them more directly than the others.

"WHO ARE YOU!?"

"What!?" the Doctor was baffled. He stopped dead in his tracks, the rubber soles of his trainers squeaking on the floor. How could his greatest enemy not recognize him? Even in this body they knew him well.

"I'M SORRY, BUT WHO ARE YOU?"

Sorry? That _definitely_ wasn't something that would come from a Dalek. He leaned in to be seen by the Dalek's eyestalk camera. "Oh don't mind me. Question is, who are you, might I ask?"

"APOLOGIES. I AM THE NANOTECH. BUT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THESE BODIES. THEY ARE … FOREIGN. THEY ARE NOT HUMAN."

The Doctor thought it best to reveal as little as possible. "No, definitely not. Space men, crashed here over 50 years ago."

"THIS BODY TISSUE IS DECAYED. YET IT IS ALSO SOMEWHAT PRESERVED. WHY?"

"Well from my point of view you just look like a big metal space suit. The body inside was probably kept a bit more fresh. Mind you the brain tissue is probably all but dead, but the appendages seem to still be working."

By this time Priscilla and Aaron had reached the exit. "Doctor! What are you doing!?" Aaron called out.

"Go on, I'll be fine" the Doctor said over his shoulder. But he wouldn't. Not if the nano had gained control of Dalek technology. This had to end here and now.

Aaron was about to call into the ship again for the Doctor when he heard a TARDIS materializing behind him. Miles and Monroe burst out and took up positions on either side of the entrance to the ship, assault rifles trained on what they assumed were hostiles.

The nanotech-animated Dalek nearest the Tenth Doctor spoke again, observing these new threats. "WAIT. THESE WERE THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK MY HUMAN SUBJECTS FROM ME. MY CREATORS. RACHEL MATHESON. AARON. PRISCILLA. THE MATHESON DAUGHTER. THE LEADERS OF THE MONROE REPUBLIC." The Dalek sat idle for a moment, then its eyestalk turned back to the Tenth Doctor. "THIS BODY REMEMBERS SOMETHING. THAT BLUE BOX IS A … TARDIS. YOU ARE THE DOCTOR. YOU ARE AN ENEMY TO THIS SPECIES, AREN'T YOU?"

"Yeah, sorry, gotta dash!" and with that, the Tenth Doctor sprinted for his predecessor's TARDIS. The nanotech controlled Dalek corpses began yelling "WAIT" in unison, but to no avail. As the Doctor reached the TARDIS Miles and Monroe opened fire. Though the Dalek casings seemed impenetrable, the two men continued fire, if only to distract the enemy. As if by instinct a stray blast from a Dalek gunstalk grazed the ship door as they made a break for the TARDIS.

"THIS ARMOR HAS WEAPONS SYSTEMS. EXCELLENT" the nanotech exclaimed. "I WILL SEND SOME OF THESE UNITS TO PROTECT THE CHULA NANOGENES, THE REST WILL PROTECT MY REMAINING HUMAN HOSTS."

The Ninth Doctor set his TARDIS down at the rendezvous point, but upon landing everyone stayed in the control room. The team discussed the situation, which was now much graver than any of them could have imagined.

"I don't see how we're going to win now" said Miles. "Those things didn't even get a scratch and Bass and I unloaded an entire clip each into em."

The Ninth Doctor folded his arms. "Your ape weapons won't break through a Dalek casing. Not much that does."

"Well it's just as well anyway" Miles replied. "We've got one clip for the rifle and a handful of pistol bullets left. We wouldn't have enough to make a stand against them in the first place. We'd end up using our swords."

The Tenth Doctor smacked his his forehead with his hand. "That's it! Swords! Be right back." He took off down one of the TARDIS corridors and entered a nearby room. Moments later he returned the control room with a box which he sat on the control seat. He reached in and pulled out what looked like a giant sonic screwdriver. He pressed a button on the side and a blue blade of light extended. Both doctors grinned.

Miles was floored. "No way!"

"Fantastic!" exclaimed the Ninth Doctor

"Oh yes!" said an excited Doctor. "Lightsabers!"

Charlie looked confused. "What's a lightsaber?"

"It's basically just a laser sword. But it'll cut through anything though, even an Dalek casing." He extinguished the blade and put it back in the box.

"But they're fictional - just something out of a science fiction movie!" protested Rachel.

"Oooh, look who knows so much!" teased the Tenth Doctor. "No, they're very real. In fact, when I was him" he said, nodding to the Ninth Doctor, "I once took a young man named George Lucas to the planet Endora where the J'Dai battled their Syth enemies using lightsabers. They lived by a code, much like Earth Samurai. They gave me four of these as a gift for saving the planet." He paused, temporarily lost in memories. "Oh George, now there's a good man! He went on to write a movie about it I think. I told him to keep it fictional. He showed me a draft where he called them laserblades, which sounded rubbish. It just didn't have the same ring to it, so I told him to keep the original name in this one case."

Monroe took a saber from the box, eyed the workmanship of the hilt for a moment, then ignited it. A crimson beam extended out.

"Red. Figures. It's the color the bad guys used."

"That's where the movies are wrong though, Monroe." interrupted the Ninth Doctor. "On the real planet of Endora red crystals are the highest honor the J'Dai can receive. They only get them for performing great acts of heroism or for seeing their people through a crisis. Think you can earn yours today?"

Monroe extinguished the blade, but continued to stare at where it had just been. "Rachel, Charlie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that Ben and Danny died by the people who were under my command. And to everyone, I'm sorry that I let myself become so blinded with despair and hate that I was barely human. I can't change who I was." His lip began to tremble and his voice cracked. "But I can promise you, here and now, that I will do everything until the day I die to ensure that I make amends for my actions and make the world better."

Miles walked over to the box and grabbed a saber. "You won't have to do it alone, Bass. We both need to make amends."

"There's no way I'm letting you guys take on those things by yourselves" said Charlie as she reached in and grabbed the lightsaber the Doctor had been holding.

"Well, there's one more" Miles said as he held the final lightsaber out. "Doctors?" Both refused. "No? Well, looks like I get to fight two hand-"

"I'll take it" said Aaron confidently.

"Aaron?" Priscilla was taken aback by Aaron's new found courage.

"I know, I'm surprised too. But I am so sick of this nanotech. I'm tired of watching it play games, of getting it magazines and cooking it pizza. I want my freedom. I want all of us to be free. And if today we're either going to die or succeed, I want to go in knowing I'm doing everything in my power to bring this thing down once and for all."

"Alright, looks like we have our jedi order" said Miles in a sarcastic tone.

"Hold on a tick," cautioned the Ninth Doctor. "Those might be all well and good for the offense, but I've seen _Star Wars_, and you lot aren't jedi. They can deflect incoming fire, but you probably won't be so lucky. You are each taking one of these, too." He held out what looked like four watches. "Energy shields. Normally Dalek fire would punch right through them, but these have been dead for over 50 years. Even if your nanotech gets the Daleks totally figured out these shields should protect you for 2-3 direct hits from their energy weapons."

Miles ignited his lightsaber, giving the green blade a long hard look. "Let's do this"


End file.
